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iPad Pro iPad Pro M4 11-inch, 5 Units & all with dead pixels

leifp said:
I am susceptible to being annoyed by precisely such a thing. I do not have one on my 11” M4…
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That’s certainly promising. Depending if you want to look for them, a gray scale solid background is one of the best methods to locate them. As most posts have shown a dead pixel with a pink halo, I suspect this is an issue with the green subpixel, so a solid green background will also exhibit the dead pixels.

I will say, it’s easy to overlook since these are subpixels.

Up to you to look at your display though.
 
MarcoMHanna said:
That’s certainly promising. Depending if you want to look for them, a gray scale solid background is one of the best methods to locate them. As most posts have shown a dead pixel with a pink halo, I suspect this is an issue with the green subpixel, so a solid green background will also exhibit the dead pixels.

I will say, it’s easy to overlook since these are subpixels.

Up to you to look at your display though.
Click to expand...


I am going to be ordering the 11 inch ipad pro 512gb I hope I dont have this issue..my eyes are not the greatest would I notice the dead pixel no matter what or does the screen have to be dark at the time? I would recommend you go to another apple store with your ipad and exchange it, perhaps the store you are going to has a bad batch. Happened to me once many yrs ago at Target, bought the iPad Pro, was defective when I got home, went back to the same store, got another one, same issue..someone in guest services also had the same ipad, same defective issues, so the store told me they must have gotten a bad batch..id try another store, maybe you will have better luck
 
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lakerchick4life said:
I am going to be ordering the 11 inch ipad pro 512gb I hope I dont have this issue..my eyes are not the greatest would I notice the dead pixel no matter what or does the screen have to be dark at the time? I would recommend you go to another apple store with your ipad and exchange it, perhaps the store you are going to has a bad batch. Happened to me once many yrs ago at Target, bought the iPad Pro, was defective when I got home, went back to the same store, got another one, same issue..someone in guest services also had the same ipad, same defective issues, so the store told me they must have gotten a bad batch..id try another store, maybe you will have better luck
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It depends. Stuck pixels are on all the time when the display is on, usually red or green will be lit regardless of the background. Dead pixels are harder to see because it’s based on the sub pixels being dead, so sometimes it will look okay but on white backgrounds or gray backgrounds they are generally visible. Like mine, I have a bad green sub pixel.
 
lakerchick4life said:
I am going to be ordering the 11 inch ipad pro 512gb I hope I dont have this issue..my eyes are not the greatest would I notice the dead pixel no matter what or does the screen have to be dark at the time? I would recommend you go to another apple store with your ipad and exchange it, perhaps the store you are going to has a bad batch. Happened to me once many yrs ago at Target, bought the iPad Pro, was defective when I got home, went back to the same store, got another one, same issue..someone in guest services also had the same ipad, same defective issues, so the store told me they must have gotten a bad batch..id try another store, maybe you will have better luck
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Also, while the batch issue may be real, I’m not the only one experiencing this. Other members have had this issue to various degrees. Highly unlikely it’s batch related, more production related. OLEDs are certainly more perceptible to these issues (from experience with TVs).
 
MarcoMHanna said:
It depends. Stuck pixels are on all the time when the display is on, usually red or green will be lit regardless of the background. Dead pixels are harder to see because it’s based on the sub pixels being dead, so sometimes it will look okay but on white backgrounds or gray backgrounds they are generally visible. Like mine, I have a bad green sub pixel.
Click to expand...

When I get mine I will be on the lookout for it. I could probably look right at it and not even notice red or green dots I can totally notice I know with my previous Ipad Pro it was fine never noticed anything..I guess with OLED or anything else there will be always be some issues Im just waiting to order one til it moves to Wednesday delivery since I wont be home Monday or Tuesday I dont want the iPad Pro left outside someone can steal it so am waiting for it to move to Wednesday delivery. I remember with the first iPad Pro there was bleeding issues so I went into the apple store and checked a few of them til I found one that was fine. I remember going into their closet and seeing if the light bled when it turned on til I found one that worked LOL. Im in LA so if there are any problems with it will just take it to the apple store and get another one.
 
MarcoMHanna said:
I am posting this to seek guidance/compare notes with fellow iPad Pro users, in particular the M4 iPad Pro 11-inch. I just experienced 5, back to back, iPad Pros with dead pixels. I took advantage of the EDU discount and gift card and when I got home, I noticed a black dot, with a pink halo around it towards the upper right hand corner (if you are looking at the iPad in landscape with camera on the top side). I took this iPad back the next day and exchanged it for a new unit. Took it back home, open it up and notice another dead pixel in slightly different spot, but still in the upper right hand quadrant of the display. This morning, I took it back and was approached by the manager of the Apple Store. I explained to him the situation and he and I looked at the screen, confirmed it was indeed a dead pixel. Instead of just processing the exchange, he offered to allow me to open up the iPads in store prior to completing the transaction.

We ended up opening 2 more space black models (color I originally purchased) and 1 silver model. The 2 space black iPad Pros had visible dead pixels with similar behaviors. The silver one at first glance looked good until I got home in a darker room and immediately found a dead pixel in the center of the display. Again, it was a dark, dead pixel, with some pink hues around it. Went back to the Apple Store, did one more exchange. This time chose a space black iPad Pro and he mentioned this would be the “last“ exchange since he could not guarantee an iPad would be defect free (at this time the count was 4 iPads I had gone through). I opened up the iPad and lo and behold, another dead pixel. This time, it’s closer to the bezel on the top left hand side. It basically lives in the toolbar of safari, right by the reader/font icon.

He recommended it could just be a bad batch and recommended I wait a while and go through a warranty exchange for the dead pixels in the future.

So what gives here? I have never experienced this from Apple in all the products I have purchased over 20+ years. Not out of the box anyway. I am not really sure what to do. I see it as pointless to continue exchanging. At least this dead pixel is towards the border? Do I just live with it? Do I take his advice and replace it via warranty in 3-6 months?

I have attached some photos of the dead pixel. It appears to be a dead green subpixel by the looks of it. It’s mainly visible on green and white backgrounds but in normal operation, it just appears to be a black dot on just about anything.

The photos are trying to convey what I see. In white backgrounds, it’s just a black dot. But it also shows in UI Elements, and mixed usage. Thankfully, for video, it’s within the letterboxing but if I go full screen, its still a black dot.
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Buy AppleCare for the iPad and wait a year or so to replace it. I had an iPhone X with a dead pixel on the bottom left and they replaced it free of charge right before the 2 year AppleCare expired. I did the same thing with an Apple Watch s6 with 2 dead pixels and the replacement had a whole line of dead pixels. Depending on your location it might be worth it to drive to another Apple Store and buy an iPad there, because they might have shipped a really bad batch to your store. Even though AppleCare is expensive, it’s insurance for a product that has proven to be flawed and might help in the long run if you discover more issues.
 
MarcoMHanna said:
I am posting this to seek guidance/compare notes with fellow iPad Pro users, in particular the M4 iPad Pro 11-inch. I just experienced 5, back to back, iPad Pros with dead pixels. I took advantage of the EDU discount and gift card and when I got home, I noticed a black dot, with a pink halo around it towards the upper right hand corner (if you are looking at the iPad in landscape with camera on the top side). I took this iPad back the next day and exchanged it for a new unit. Took it back home, open it up and notice another dead pixel in slightly different spot, but still in the upper right hand quadrant of the display. This morning, I took it back and was approached by the manager of the Apple Store. I explained to him the situation and he and I looked at the screen, confirmed it was indeed a dead pixel. Instead of just processing the exchange, he offered to allow me to open up the iPads in store prior to completing the transaction.

We ended up opening 2 more space black models (color I originally purchased) and 1 silver model. The 2 space black iPad Pros had visible dead pixels with similar behaviors. The silver one at first glance looked good until I got home in a darker room and immediately found a dead pixel in the center of the display. Again, it was a dark, dead pixel, with some pink hues around it. Went back to the Apple Store, did one more exchange. This time chose a space black iPad Pro and he mentioned this would be the “last“ exchange since he could not guarantee an iPad would be defect free (at this time the count was 4 iPads I had gone through). I opened up the iPad and lo and behold, another dead pixel. This time, it’s closer to the bezel on the top left hand side. It basically lives in the toolbar of safari, right by the reader/font icon.

He recommended it could just be a bad batch and recommended I wait a while and go through a warranty exchange for the dead pixels in the future.

So what gives here? I have never experienced this from Apple in all the products I have purchased over 20+ years. Not out of the box anyway. I am not really sure what to do. I see it as pointless to continue exchanging. At least this dead pixel is towards the border? Do I just live with it? Do I take his advice and replace it via warranty in 3-6 months?

I have attached some photos of the dead pixel. It appears to be a dead green subpixel by the looks of it. It’s mainly visible on green and white backgrounds but in normal operation, it just appears to be a black dot on just about anything.

The photos are trying to convey what I see. In white backgrounds, it’s just a black dot. But it also shows in UI Elements, and mixed usage. Thankfully, for video, it’s within the letterboxing but if I go full screen, its still a black dot.
Click to expand...
This is my experience only. Since 2007 I have bought multiple Apple devices at launch, and 100% of the time there were hardware defects on them. It is my theory that the production and quality check process is always flawed or rushed on the first or early batches. I have stopped pre-ordering and buying Apple devices at launch. I assume there are perfect first batch devices. I am just saying that the early batches include more defective ones than later batches, when they are less rushed or when they have refined the process.
 
lakerchick4life said:
I am going to be ordering the 11 inch ipad pro 512gb I hope I dont have this issue..my eyes are not the greatest would I notice the dead pixel no matter what or does the screen have to be dark at the time? I would recommend you go to another apple store with your ipad and exchange it, perhaps the store you are going to has a bad batch. Happened to me once many yrs ago at Target, bought the iPad Pro, was defective when I got home, went back to the same store, got another one, same issue..someone in guest services also had the same ipad, same defective issues, so the store told me they must have gotten a bad batch..id try another store, maybe you will have better luck
Click to expand...
In both my cases, having a dead green subpixel would show up as a red dot on a white background, which is hard to unsee once you’ve seen it.

IMG_1309.jpeg
IMG_1273.jpeg
 
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antiprotest said:
This is my experience only. Since 2007 I have bought multiple Apple devices at launch, and 100% of the time there were hardware defects on them. It is my theory that the production and quality check process is always flawed or rushed on the first or early batches. I have stopped pre-ordering and buying Apple devices at launch. I assume there are perfect first batch devices. I am just saying that the early batches include more defective ones than later batches, when they are less rushed or when they have refined the process.
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I find this odd, not that I don’t believe you but it just differs immensely from my experience. I have bought launch day iPhones, MacBooks, and iPads and have rarely experienced a dead pixel or other defects.


Only times I have had issues was the 2021 MBP and the hinge and an iPad Pro 2018 with a dead pixel months into owning it.
 
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I wouldn't recognise a dead pixel if I saw one tbh 😗, I hope this issue gets resolved ASAP. These devices are so pricey that anything less than 110% satisfaction would be unacceptable !
 
MarcoMHanna said:
I find this odd, not that I don’t believe you but it just differs immensely from my experience. I have bought launch day iPhones, MacBooks, and iPads and have rarely experienced a dead pixel or other defects.


Only times I have had issues was the 2021 MBP and the hinge and an iPad Pro 2018 with a dead pixel months into owning it.
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I’ve bought so many Apple devices… both early once just released and well into product cycle… and rarely ever had issues. Only returned one iPhone for battery (6S) and a MacBook (which might have been damaged by a thunder storm).

Never had any dead pixels, ever on an Apple device. Even if I did, I’d just keep it. One pixel on Retina class display is so so insignificant. If tgeee is a group of them or multiple all over screen I’d be concerned, but one… I’d just keep an otherwise perfect unit.
 
Go to a different Apple Store. They may have a bad batch. A different store would fix that hopefully. Or ask Apple to replace it directly.
 
Anybody remember the original PlayStation Portable at launch?

I remember that my first unit had a dozen or so dead pixels. The GameStop manager tried to claim that it was completely normal for displays to have a dead pixel. Which is true… but a dozen?!

I got it exchanged and got one that had 5 dead pixels. Which… was better than a dozen. And everybody seemed to have launch-day horror stories about dead pixels (people with PSP units with even more than a dozen dead pixels). So I kept my 5 dead pixel unit and considered myself lucky, lol.

I can’t remember Sony’s official response (been almost 20 years). But I think Sony agreed to exchange any unit that had more than a certain number of dead pixels.
 
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Do what a friend of mine did. He bought 10 units and opened them all and spent the day evaluating each one and picking the best one. Then returns the rest to the store.
 
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Can I make a suggestion:

Apple Certified Refurbished.

My last three Macs were all Certified Refurbished and they were all excellent. In my opinion, buying ‘Certified Refurbished’ is better than buying new. You have a person going over everything about the device. And if there is something wrong with it, it gets fixed well-before you buy it. And if there is something that cannot be fixed, it’ll never get sold as ‘Certified Refurbished’ by Apple.

This level of quality assurance is what should happen with new products (but doesn’t — at least not to the level of Certified Refurbished).

I don’t think the new iPad Pros have made it to the Certified Refurbished store yet. However, if you can wait a bit (and if you can return the iPad Pro you currently have), Certified Refurbished might be your best bet to basically-guarantee no problems with the display.
 
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I had this with my iPad Air (original). When I returned it the replacement also had a dead pixel and they wouldn’t replace the next one. I think they told me at the time that they expect up to 4 dead pixels. The one on that device annoyed me for all the years I had it.
 
I know that some people are more sensitive to this sort of thing, but the only image where I saw it right away was the green one.
In the white one I can see it but mostly because of the circle around it. In the UI screenshot it actually took me a while and the rest... I don't see it at all.

That's not to invalidate OP's experience. I'm wondering if I would return the device over this. After all, these screenshots are blown up significantly to see the individual pixels.
If this was like the bright blue dead pixel I had on a 1280x1024 screen back in the day, it'd be much more of an issue because of the vastly lower pixel density.
 
BanjoDudeAhoy said:
I know that some people are more sensitive to this sort of thing, but the only image where I saw it right away was the green one.
In the white one I can see it but mostly because of the circle around it. In the UI screenshot it actually took me a while and the rest... I don't see it at all.

That's not to invalidate OP's experience. I'm wondering if I would return the device over this. After all, these screenshots are blown up significantly to see the individual pixels.
If this was like the bright blue dead pixel I had on a 1280x1024 screen back in the day, it'd be much more of an issue because of the vastly lower pixel density.
Click to expand...
Taking a photo of dead pixels is hard. My first M4 13 inch had a full dead pixel which I saw immediately during the setup process. Tried for a while to take a pic of it and it was barely visible on any of them when it was a clear as day black square when actually looking at the device.

So far I also didn't have the best of luck with the M4 iPads. My first M4 13 inch had a dead pixel, the second one had touch screen issues but it was a perfect display, the third one had a dead pixel again. Going to try one more for a good device and then I'll probably just give up.
 
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BanjoDudeAhoy said:
I know that some people are more sensitive to this sort of thing, but the only image where I saw it right away was the green one.
In the white one I can see it but mostly because of the circle around it. In the UI screenshot it actually took me a while and the rest... I don't see it at all.

That's not to invalidate OP's experience. I'm wondering if I would return the device over this. After all, these screenshots are blown up significantly to see the individual pixels.
If this was like the bright blue dead pixel I had on a 1280x1024 screen back in the day, it'd be much more of an issue because of the vastly lower pixel density.
Click to expand...
yeah initially i didnt try looking for it, but second day i did the lcd test and didnt notice any. I definitely get it why people are sensitive to it because once u see it you cant unsee it
 
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